Andrew McLeod

Breadcrumb

Few names in the storied history of Australian Rules football evoke such enormous pride amongst Territorians as the name of perhaps the Territories greatest ever player, the magnificent Andrew McLeod.

McLeod is named Captain of the AFLNT Team of the Century, an honour richly deserved. An undisputed all-time great of the game, an Adelaide Crows legend and a genuine role model for all young aspiring footballers, Andrew McLeod is recognised as one of the game's greats.

Andrew began playing footy as a youngster for the Darwin Buffaloes, a club he loves and was a standout from the moment he touched the Sherrin. He remains involved with his beloved Double Blues to this day.

Andrew was selected for a myriad of junior Territory teams including the 1988 NT Primary Schoolboys, the 1992 NT Secondary Schoolboys, the 1992 All-Australian Schoolboys and the 1992 and 1993 NT Teal Cups.

In 1993, Andrew was the awarded the Hunter Harrison Medal for the NTFL Under 17s Championships. Andrew played for the Buffaloes in the NTFL Premier League from 1991/92 to 1993/94 and was a member of the Buffaloes Grand Final team in 1993/94.

Andrew went on to be awarded Life Member (Legend Status) of the Club in 2010. Representing the NTFL in three games, he played in the 1994 clash against Essendon and the 1994 game against the VFA, winning Best on Ground, and in 1995 against the Fremantle Dockers.

Andrew them moved to Adelaide and was picked up by Port Adelaide Football Club where he played from 1994 to 1996, and was a member of the Club’s 1994 Premiership team.

Originally linked to the Fremantle Football Club, Andrew was traded to the Adelaide Football Club and made his AFL debut in 1995, promptly picking up the Crow’s Emerging Talent Award as well as an AFL Rising Star nomination that year.

He went on to play 340 League games for the Crows and is one of the Club's most decorated players. A three-time winner of the Club’s Best and Fairest medal and a two-time premiership player, he won the coveted Norm Smith Medal in the Grand Finals of 1997 and 1998.

Andrew’s list of awards and achievements is a testament to his distinguished career. Named as an All-Australian in 1998, 2000, 2001, 2006 and Captain in 2007; he came third in the 2000 Brownlow Medal and Runner-up in 2001; he was named as the AFL Players Association Most Valuable Player Award in 2001. He was also the Michael Tuck Medalist in the 2003 AFL Night Series Grand Final a year that also saw the club honour its Champion with life membership.

Andrew won the Polly Famer Medalist for Best on Ground playing for the Indigenous All-Stars versus the Western Bulldogs in 2005, and, in a fitting tribute, he was named in the AFL Indigenous Team of the Century 2005.

He represented his country six times against Ireland, captaining the 2005 side and won the Jim Stynes Medal for Australia’s Best Player. He was awarded life membership of the AFL in 2007, was named in the SANFL Indigenous Team of the Century in 2011, inducted into the South Australian Hall of Fame in 2012, won the Steve Abala Medal for Administrators in 2013 and was bestowed with legend status when he was inducted into the AFLNT Hall of Fame in 2014.

Proving his love for all things NT footy, Andrew McLeod returned to the Territory and became a Premiership player with NT Thunder in 2011. Upon retiring from the game, Andrew continues to coach and mentor many young footballers in various roles. With a stellar career and an immeasurable contribution to AFL Football, Andrew McLeod richly deserves the captaincy of the greatest NT team of all time and it is an incredible honour to welcome our captain, Andrew McLeod, into the AFLNT Team of the Century.